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Jim Green / Ed Campion                       May 1, 2003
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
(Phone: 301/286-7354 / 8955)
James.L.Green{at}nasa.gov or Edward.S.Campion{at}nasa.gov

Darcy Schein
Botball Program Manager
Phone: 405/579-4609 (work) or 405/923-4503 (cell)
dschein{at}kipr.org

RELEASE: 03-47

STUDENT-BUILT ROBOTS COMPETE FOR D.C. BOTBALL TITLE

Students from around the Washington Metropolitan area will go 
head-to-head in a fast-paced robot competition this Saturday, May 3, 
2003 at the University of Maryland's Ritchie Coliseum.  The event is 
designed to engage students in learning the practical applications of 
science, technology, engineering and math through robot building and 
programming.

Middle and high school students from across the region have spent the 
past six weeks designing, building and programming their robots to 
compete in the D.C. Regional Botball Tournament.  The robots compete 
on a 4-foot by 8-foot game board and score points by moving colored 
balls into scoring position. Each school's team of two robots must 
turn themselves on and off, react to their opponent and maneuver on 
the game board without the use of remote controls.

The total number of teams this year is 49 with 20 from Virginia, 24 
from Maryland, and five from Washington DC.  Included in this years 
contest is the Model Secondary School for the Deaf.  This year's 
competition will utilize a variety of motion, infrared, and vision 
sensors in the robot designs.

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center is a major sponsor of the event 
with funding going to nearly 20 teams and to support the over all 
event.  In addition, a number of GSFC civil servants and contractors 
are mentors to the teams or judges at the competition while others 
will be supporting NASA display booths at the event.

"In the six years this event has been going on, we have NEVER turned 
a team away because they couldn't raise the funds" said NASA's Jim 
Green.  "If the kids are motivated to have a team, we find a way to 
fund them!  No one is left behind."

Green points out that a large number of Goddard employees devote 
their extra time to work with these kids as mentors, or judges, or 
manning the booths and that level of participation is something he is 
extremely proud of.

Green says the kids that participate in this contest are highly 
gifted and interested in computer engineering. "We want them as 
summer students, we want them to come and work at GSFC when they 
finish. They are our future leaders."

The DC Regional Botball Tournament begins with registration/practice 
time beginning at 8 a.m.  The seeding round activity will take place 
at 10 a.m. and double elimination competition will start at 1:30 p.m. 
The awards ceremony is scheduled for 5 p.m.

The tournament is open to the news media. The event is also open to 
the public and there is no admission charge. For more information on 
the event, news media can call Jim Green at 301/286-7354 or reach him 
by email at James.L.Green{at}nasa.gov

Botball is presented nationwide by the KISS Institute for Practical 
Robotics. KISS Institute, founded in Reston, Va., is dedicated to 
linking people and technology through education, outreach and 
research.

For more information on Botball, visit www.botball.org or call
405/579-4609.

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